-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- It is a boarding pass unlike any other . It 's a memory of a day that nearly was his last on earth .

US Airways passenger Barry Leonard now has the other half of his boarding pass from the fateful flight .

When a FedEx package arrived at Barry Leonard 's home recently , he had no idea it contained items from his flight that ended up in the Hudson River .

Leonard was seated at the front of US Airways Flight 1549 , and when pilot Chesley `` Sully '' Sullenberger amazingly landed the plane in the river , Leonard left everything he had behind and dove into the frigid water .

He thought all he had left from that January day were the clothes he had on , including a pair of jeans he still wears .

But recently the package with most of his left-behind belongings showed up at his Charlotte , North Carolina , home .

`` Everything from the Wall Street Journal of that day to my W-2 form that I did n't even realize was in this package , '' he says . `` You know my briefcase that I 'd had for decades , it was all of those things . '' Watch as Leonard brings out the items recovered from the water ''

As he showed CNN the contents he discovered another item -- a memorable slip of paper .

`` This is actually the other part of my boarding pass from January 15 . As you can see here January 15 , flight 1549 and my seat number 1C , '' he says .

To help return personal items to its passengers , US Airways hired Global-BMS , a Texas-based company that recovers and restores items from large disasters .

Global-BMS sorted through nearly 30,000 items from the flight , cleaning them in a slow , tedious process that often involved freeze-drying items to preserve them while they waited to be processed .

`` Passengers ' emotional ties to their possessions because of a traumatic incident like this , it 's highly emotional . So we just want to make it available , '' Mark Rocco , a senior vice president of Global-BMS , tells CNN .

Some of the items that were returned to the 150 travelers were unusable after being submerged , especially electronic items like headphones and music players .

But for a lot of folks , personal effects show a little damage but are still good .

Vicki Barnhardt tried on her running shoes , and though they were a little tight at first , she wears them now when she goes jogging in Huntersville , North Carolina .

She tells CNN that she evacuated the plane only with her cellphone , leaving behind her purse , her wallet , driver 's license , some flash drives and other items .

She got most of her possessions from the plane back -- a coat , a pair of gloves and her cash are still missing -- and the items in the boxes seem in pretty good shape .

The flash drives still work , though you can see some `` corrosion '' on them . She also got back a three-ring binder , and all her notes are still readable .

Maryann Bruce found her diamonds in the parcel that was returned to her in Cornelius , North Carolina . It brought back memories of the landing in the river and made her thankful to be alive .

`` I just focused on wow , you know , I got all this stuff back , '' she says .

`` I ca n't believe I got all this stuff back , and I 'm here to get the stuff back , versus the alternative where they would 've been giving it to my loved ones . I did n't relive the anguish ; I relived the ` Wow , I 'm here to get it . ' ''

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US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River on January 15

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Passengers scrambled to save their lives , leaving behind personal belongings

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Texas company has recovered , restored and returned most of the 30,000 items

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Some items , like one woman 's four flash drives , are still in good shape